Weekly Groceries

Today I went to Kroger to do our weekly grocery shopping. My goal lately has been to spend only about $35-$40 a week in groceries for our family of three. This week I only spent $26.11 so I thought it was a blog-worthy moment!

As you can see from my receipt, I bought 47 items with that $26 after these discounts:

$30.62 in my manufacturer's coupons -- I get most of those in the Sunday paper as well as a few that I find and print off the internet. I buy the two paper bundle each week to maximize the deals I find by being able to get two of each, and I'm also always on the hunt for anyone who's willing to give me their left over coupon inserts so I'll have even more options.

$4.50 was bonus savings -- this category includes several things. First of all, Kroger offers e-coupons. You go to this site, click on the Shortcuts link, enter your Kroger card number, and then load up clipless coupons you can use while you're in the store (and once you get done with the Shortcut site, go back to the Kroger site and enter the P & G Brandsaver site to do the same). I love taking advantage of this -- no coupons to clip or keep up with, just add to the card, wait one hour for them to get loaded by the site, and then you're ready to save! Also included in the bonus saving total is any doubling or tripling coupons you may have. The first scan is included in the manufacturer's coupon category, but any day Kroger will triple coupons up to .39 and double coupons up to .50. This is a GREAT way to find some free or nearly free deals -- for example, the worcester sauce I got today was on sale for $1 a bottle, but since I had a .35 coupon for it and the store triples that coupon, I actually got the bottle for -.05 (which means I got a nickel off something else in my cart... unfortunately they won't give me any money back!).

39.35 in Kroger Plus Savings -- This is how much I saved by purchasing items Kroger was offering on sale this week when I used my Kroger card. Grapes were on sale for .97 a pound when you use your Kroger card, so I bought 2 1/2 pounds and saved $3.94 off the regular price of the grapes and Kate gets to enjoy fresh grapes this week! Also, Kroger occasionally has great deals to save extra money by purchasing a certain total number of a certain group of items. This week their deal was to purchase 10 items (that were already on sale) and receive $5 off the total of your purchase -- and you could do that up to three times in one order! So I stockpiled some of the items that were especially good deals when I combined the sale prices with my coupons in order to collect 30 of the designated items so I could save $15 off my order. WOW! I LOVE IT when Kroger has deals like this!

So I saved a total of $74.47, which was 73% total savings. This is my absolute favorite part of my entire Kroger receipt!! Each week I rush home and I can hardly get in the door before I'm trying to tell Cody how much I saved and what percentage that was. I'm thrilled anytime it's over 50%, pleased if it's somewhere in the 40% range, and disappointed in myself if it's any lower than that (but if that's the case I try to make it up the next week!).

I do try to buy as many items as possible on sale and stockpile things I know we use every week when I find great deals (chicken, beef, canned soups, etc) to help me make dinner, but as you can see from my pictures I still buy things that aren't on a great sale and that I don't have a coupon for as needed. For example, the 3 ready to heat and eat hot dogs from Oscar Meyer are for Cody's lunches at work. They cost $3.99, I saved .40 by using my Kroger card for a grand total of $3.59 for 3 hot dogs. Not an excellent deal, but Cody loves them, they are easy for him to pop in the microwave at work, and I rationalize the purchase by thinking how much cheaper those hot dogs are than him running down the street to Wendy's or Whataburger to grab lunch. So because we're able to save a good amount of money on groceries doesn't mean we are restricted to only items on sale or only items that we have coupons for - I just don't get too many of those special items in one week of shopping.

It definitely takes time to clip and organize the coupons, research the internet coupons to print, select the e-coupons to add to my card, look through the paper to make my list, and brain-power in the store to be sure I keep it all together, but right now the money I'm able to save my family is more than worth that effort! If you'd like any more info on how you can start saving, I'd be GLAD to help however I can!

Toddler Gymnastics

Kate got invited to go to a gymnastics class Dylan's mom was teaching one day this week. She had SO MUCH fun! She jumped on the trampoline, did her first cartwheels (with assistance of course), flipped over the uneven bars, did an obstacle course, played in the chalk for her hands, hung on the rings, jumped into the pit filled with foam cubes, danced to a song, and did so many other fun things. She was so happy! She's had a real passion for gymnastics since this summer when she saw the Olympics. When she finished flipping on the uneven bars she ran back to her spot to sit with the other kids and looked over at me to say, "Momma, I was SO BRAVE!" We had a great time, but it completely wore her out - she took almost a three hour nap when we got home. Yea for gymnastics!!

The Waiting Room

In my Bible study last week we studied the details that went into the orchestration of the Israelites escaping from their slavery in Egypt. This statement was made: We need to be mindful of what we can't see God doing and confident that His deliverance will come in His perfect timing. Then followed the questions of: a) how willing am I to wait on that perfect timing? and b) how am I being encouraged in God's waiting room?

Waiting rooms aren't fun places to hang out... not even if they give you a free coke and have a television. I wait for my oil to get changed, I wait for doctor's appointments, and I seem to stumble into so many other places to sit and wait. Waiting rooms aren't fun or glamorous, but they unfortunately seem to be a necessary part of life. The best part of the waiting room drama is hearing your name, standing up, and walking out of the whatever sort of waiting room you're caged in!

I feel like I'm stuck in a proverbial waiting room in a few different areas of my life right now. I'm trying to wait as patiently as possible for my name to be called so I can leave this spot to go receive some direction and/or answers. But sometimes I just feel impatient, disappointed, and stuck in a "life's not fair" mentality. I need to find a way to take time to make myself more consciously aware that though I don't see what's happening on the other side of the waiting room's door, God is working on more than I'll ever understand to get things ready for me to walk out of here. When the time is right, my name will be called, and out I'll march... though it probably won't be too long after I strut out of here until I find myself crawling into yet another waiting room. But that's just life, isn't it?!?

One thing that makes all the waiting better for me is the fact that I'm not sitting in my waiting room alone. I'm not a natural loner -- too much time alone tends to send me into a bit of a downward spiral. So thankfully there are a couple people sitting right here with me - tangibly encouraging me with their kind words, hugs, notes, and compassion. Somehow I've peripherally seen these people next to me without truly seeing, hearing, or appreciating them until recently. I've had such a total and complete focus on looking for the slightest crack in the exit door that I've skimmed past the people and mistakenly felt all alone. Despite my selfish, temporary tunnel vision, my eyes are now more fully open and here those encouragers are -- still with me, still encouraging me, and still loving me. This waiting room isn't nearly as frustrating or difficult when I'm able to shift my focus and see them here with me.

If I can learn to appreciate my time in this waiting room by finding a way to be content through the season of waiting, I think this waiting room (as well as the inevitable ones in my future) will be so much more meaningful rather than painful. When it's painful there's complaining, sadness, and isolation - but if I'm able to make this time meaningful I'm free to feel grateful, encouraged, and able to persevere. I'd take more meaning over more pain any day, wouldn't you?

I'm not sure if you're stuck in one of life's waiting rooms, but because I think maybe someone out there can identify with this I thought it was blog-post-worthy tonight. If you're not currently in your own waiting room, maybe you're one of the seen or unseen encouragers busy at work in someone else's. To those amazing encouragers out there - and most especially to mine - please know you are seen, appreciated, and that the waiting couldn't be as meaningful without you!

2008 Election

In honor of the first presidential election in Kate's life, we decided to let her stay up a little later than her usual bedtime tonight. I get all nostalgic during times like this remembering how four years ago we had no idea how we'd be blessed with our precious girl, or that we'd be living back in DFW, and so many other things... and eight years ago Cody and I were watching the election results in our apartment while munching on some fresh homemade snow ice cream after braving the weather to go vote - and who knows where we'll be in four more years!

Kate enjoyed watching the red and blue colors pop up on the tv screen and finding lots of Rs and Ds. She also was very excited when she saw John McCain's face on the screen since she met him at the mall a month or so ago and has been talking about him ever since (click here to see a picture as definitive proof!). Eventually our girl got tired of waiting on all the votes to come in to see who will make it to the 270 mark first, so we let her go on to bed instead of waiting with us on the couch. But it's starting to look like this may be the first year since Cody and I have been old enough to vote that we have a good chance of going to bed knowing who the next president will be.

Have any election night memories to share?

The Conversations of a Two Year Old...

On our way home from church last night Kate asked with incredible politeness to hold my hand so I did what any momma would do, I wrenched my shoulder practically out of socket so I could hold her hand from the driver's seat. As my arm started going to sleep Kate said, "Momma, I need to ask you a question." She's been saying that a lot lately, but usually after she says that it's clear that she's just wanting my attention for a minute because she 95% of the time doesn't ask any questions. I thought last night would be no different, so I just asked her what she wanted to know. But she DID have a few questions, here's a run-down on our conversation:

K: Momma, where does Moses live?
M: He lived in Egypt for a while and then in the desert.
K: Oh, where does Jesus live?
M: In heaven and in our hearts.
K: Okay, where does God live?
M: He lives in heaven too.
K: He lives with Jesus?
M: Yes.
K: Can we go to heaven and see them?
M: We can.
K: On the freeway?
M: Not really...

My mind was spinning out of control at this point because I was wondering how I was going to answer her if she asked if we could go now (like she does about Mamaw's house) or how you get there. I know how I'd answer an older child or adult, but how to do it on a two year old level isn't something I know the best way to do! But, as often happens in two year old world, her mind was done with that line of questioning and she was on to another topic...
K: Can we play games when we get home?

I can't believe how much she seems to be growing up these past few weeks. Her thoughts and questions are getting more complex. I'm so excited to watch her grow and learn, but I'm also thrilled when she still wants to snuggle with me before bed or wants me to just hold her for a while like she's done since she was a baby!